Play Life, Live Games: New details released about Apple Arcade

Thursday

Apple held a press conference Tuesday to announce this year’s model of the iPhone, the latest version of the iOS software and discuss its plans for the rest of the year.

One of those announcements could end up having huge ramifications for the video game industry.

Announced earlier this year, Apple finally detailed its plans for the Apple Arcade. Apple Arcade is its new gaming subscription service that will give users unlimited access to dozens of new games that launches Sept. 19 for $4.99 a month. Apple hasn’t stated how many titles will be in the service at launch, put has promised there will be more than 100 games within weeks and that new titles will be added monthly.

“We are so excited to launch Apple Arcade on the App Store. A curated selection of over 100 new and exclusive games from many of the most innovative game developers in the world is the perfect complement to the App Store’s existing massive catalog of games,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said in a press release. “We think customers of all ages are going to be delighted that a single subscription gives the whole family unlimited access to the full catalog of amazing Apple Arcade games, all without any ads or additional purchases, while knowing every game must meet Apple’s high privacy standards.”

Apple Arcade will be compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Apple TV. Apple Arcade games can all be played offline and a single subscription includes access for up to six family members. Best of all, none of the games in the service will have additional microtransactions.

I don’t do a whole lot of gaming with my phone, other than playing my dad in “Ruzzle” and feeding my ongoing addiction to the “Star Wars Card Trader” app, but Apple Arcade seems like a pretty great deal. The price is cheaper than I excepted (an Apple Music subscription is $14.99 a month) and the launch lineup looks solid with new games in the Rayman, Pac-Man, Shantae, Steven Universe, and ChuChu Rocket series, along with original titles such as “Various Daylife,” a new Square Enix role playing game from the creators of “Bravely Default” and “Octopath Traveler.”Dusty Ricketts is the editor of The Destin Log and The Walton Sun newspapers and can be reached at dricketts@thedestinlog.com.

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